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Stephen Wojdak

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Stephen Wojdak
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
from the 169th district
In office
January 7, 1969 – November 30, 1976
Preceded byDistrict created
Succeeded byDennis O'Brien
Personal details
Born
Stephen Richard Wojdak

(1938-12-15)December 15, 1938
Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedJune 2, 2015(2015-06-02) (aged 76)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Alma materUniversity of Pennsylvania Law School

Stephen Richard Wojdak (December 15, 1938 – June 2, 2015) was an American politician who was a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and a prominent lobbyist in Pennsylvania, where he was the President and CEO of S. R. Wojdak & Associates.[1][2]

Pennsylvania House

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A graduate of the University of Scranton and University of Pennsylvania Law School, he was elected to represent the 169th in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1968.[1] He served four terms in the House, ultimately serving as chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, before retiring in 1976.[1]

Lobbyist

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The next year, he founded S.R. Wojdak & Associates, a lobbying firm with offices in Philadelphia and Harrisburg.[1]

Wojdak's first lobbying client was the Hospital Association of Pennsylvania,[3] and he was successful in securing $70 million in state to pay for indigent care at 320 Pennsylvania hospitals.[4] From that initial client, Wojdak's firm has developed into one of the premier lobbying firms in the state.[5] The firm's client list includes Fortune 500 companies, major universities and health care systems, cultural and tourist organizations, and trade associations.[1] He was instrumental in attempts to change Pennsylvania's tort reform laws, telecommunications and electric deregulation efforts, and in obtaining state funds for the Pennsylvania Convention Center, the Wachovia Center, SEPTA, and Lincoln Financial Field.[1]

Media reports have regularly hailed Wojdak as one of the most effective lobbyists in Harrisburg.[6] In 1992, the Philadelphia Daily News dubbed Wojdak as the "King of Clout," saying that "through savvy, contacts, and money, Stephen Wojdak is influencing public policy like no one else.[7] In 1994, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, said that "so pervasive is the Harrisburg clout of Stephen Wojdak that some lawmakers refer to him as the 51st Senator"[8] and a few years later, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, said that "of the 848 registered lobbyists in the state, Wojdak is considered to have the most clout."[9] In 1999, Philadelphia Magazine, named him to its Power 100 list, saying he is a "player nonpareil of the Harrisburg lobbying game."[10] Wojdak has hired several prominent former legislative staffers, including Joseph P. McLaughlin, a former Philadelphia deputy mayor, who managed the Philadelphia business of Wojdak & Associates in the 1990s.[11] Martin Sellers, owner of Sellers-Dorsey, a national health care consulting firm, was one of the founding members of the Wojdak firm.[12]

In 2000, Wojdak founded a new public relations company, which is headed by former Philadelphia Deputy Mayor Kevin A. Feeley.[13] Bellevue Communications Group is a full-service public relations firm.

In June 2002, lobbyist Holly Kinser sought to return to the Harrisburg lobbying community from Chicago and Kinser's ex-husband Bill DeWeese asked Wojdak not to hire Kinser.[14] Later that year, Wojdak did hire Kinser; accounts conflict on the specifics of what happened in the earlier meeting and whether Wojdak had actually broken any agreement.[14] DeWeese penned a letter (eventually leaked to PoliticsPA and published to wide dissemination) calling Wojdak an "abject, ignoble, mendacious knave."[14] In relatiation, DeWeese sought to keep Wojdak off of the board of the Philadelphia Convention Center Authority.[15]

In 2003 and 2009, Wojdak was named to the Pennsylvania Report "Power 75" list,[16][17] and he was named to the PoliticsPA list of "Sy Snyder's Power 50" in 2002 and 2003.[18][19]

In 2010, Politics Magazine named him one of the most influential Democrats in Pennsylvania.[20]

Death

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Wojdak died on June 2, 2015, in Boston, Massachusetts, while on vacation on Martha's Vineyard.[21]

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Stephen R. Wojdak, Esq. President & CEO". www.wojdak.com.
  2. ^ Pennsylvania; Pennsylvania. Dept. of Property and Supplies; Pennsylvania. Bureau of Publications (1971). The Pennsylvania Manual. Vol. 100. Department of Property and Supplies for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 2015-04-05.
  3. ^ Philadelphia Daily News article, April 7, 1992
  4. ^ Pittsburgh Tribune-Review article, 11/9/93, A7
  5. ^ Patriot News article, 2/11/96
  6. ^ Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 5/13/96
  7. ^ Daily News article, 4/7/92
  8. ^ Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 11/27/94
  9. ^ Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 5/13/96
  10. ^ #28 in Philadelphia Magazine's Power 100 in November 1999
  11. ^ 10. Cards Stacked Against States, The Philadelphia Inquirer 3/21/95
  12. ^ Two Top Execs Exit Wojdak, Philadelphia Business Journal November 3–9, 2000
  13. ^ Inside the Capitol, The Patriot News, January 13, 2000
  14. ^ a b c Rubin Erdely, Sabrina (March 2003). "There's Something About Holly Philadelphia Magazine March, 2003". Philadelphia. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Metro Corp.
  15. ^ Neri, Al (September 2002). "DeWeese Letter Enlivens Capital Gossip Grapevine". The Insider. Archived from the original on 2007-10-12.
  16. ^ "The PA Report "Power 75" List" (PDF). Pennsylvania Report. Capitol Growth. January 31, 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-09-20.
  17. ^ "PA Report 100" (PDF). Pennsylvania Report. Capitol Growth. January 23, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-01-27.
  18. ^ "Sy Snyder's Power 50". PoliticsPA. The Publius Group. 2002. Archived from the original on 2002-04-21.
  19. ^ "Power 50". PoliticsPA. The Publius Group. 2003. Archived from the original on 2004-04-17.
  20. ^ Roarty, Alex; Sean Coit (January 2010). "Pennsylvania Influencers" (PDF). Politics Magazine. pp. 44–49. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-12-29.
  21. ^ Longtime PA. Lobbyist Stephen Wojdak dies, The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philly.com), Claudia Vargas and Robert Moran-staff writers, June 2, 2015
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